Musical Notes

Music and Songwriting

On the 21st and 22nd of August, sixteen St Bede's College students from Year levels 9-11 were fortunate enough to attend a music and song-writing incursion put together by the not-for-profit organisation 'APRA.' The leaders and mentors of this two-day program included professional singer/song-writer Lior Attar as well as producer/pianist Grant Windsor.  On the Monday (21st), students gathered to meet Grant and Lior and were able to share experiences and passions towards music and song-writing.  The two mentors spoke about methods of creating song structure, and using personal memories or feelings to write lyrics which can impact any audience.  From here, students were split into groups of four and were set the task of brainstorming song themes, mapping out structure and finally writing lyrics and music.  

The writing took up the whole day, and the start of Tuesday marked the beginning of production.  Grant was in charge of putting each musical and lyrical idea into a single project for the four groups.  After about an hour per group of recording piano, guitars and voice into the computer, Grant brought the song together. It was incredible to hear what an industry-professional could make out of only 4-6 song elements. Vocal performances from Spencer O'Leary, Tristan Harris, Jack Shelton and Joshua Yong all sounded amazing with each group's song. At the conclusion of the two-day course, the students couldn't be happier with how their music turned out. Lior and Grant truly inspired everyone to improve their musical capabilities.